Phobia
by timeturnings
Summary: Win the Pro Bending pot, use her share to buy a small, musty cottage on some secluded hillside, and spend the rest of her life writing novels in beautiful solitude. That was it. That was her adventure. It was never Asuka's intention to get involved with Team Avatar; or to become a young, mouthy beat cop's partner-in-crime against the kings of Republic City's filthy underbelly.


I've always hated long silences. Not even awkward silences – the mere absence of noise, hearing the slow acceleration of my pulse ricochet off the tissues of my brain & insides of my skull, makes me feel sick to my stomach. Somehow, the moment when the people stop talking and the radio shuts off and the rain stops pounding and you're left alone with that slow thrum of blood in your ears; it suddenly becomes so apparent, so horrifyingly clear that everything and everyone you know or will ever know are absolutely and utterly empty. That humans are just words and fanciful thoughts tied up in a sac of skin cells. That if we were to wake up and decide not speak to a person ever again, we would eventually disappear into the shade of ancient, wind-blown trees. In a situation like that, there'd be no distractions. No people to talk to. No places to run to. No one and no where to hide from what you really fear – yourself. You'd have nothing to do but sit. Sit and think. Think and sit. Contemplate your life. Contemplate your actions. Are you a good person? Of course. You go to church. You help people cross the road. You pay your taxes on time. You do good things. Yes, but am I _really _a good person? Am I special? Am I unique? Am I a single figment in God's master plan, different, individual from every other? Or am I nothing? A cog in the wheel of life – a wheel that continues to spin even after I'm gone. As though I never existed. As though I were nothing but words in a skin suit. As though I were nothing.

_I've always hated long silences._

* * *

The screams of the crowd can be heard through the double-layered concrete insulation of the locker room's walls. Somewhere far above their heads, someone has started a rhythmic stomp; _bump-ba-bump-ba-bump. _Like an infection, the beat spreads gradually through the crowd – _bump-ba-bump-ba-bump. _In the feet, the hands, with voice and chanting, the crowd shrieks its approval down into the ring.

A dark-eyed waterbender observes a fallen chunk of plaster, jimmied loose by the crowd's wild support several hundred feet above their heads. He snorts as he fiddles with an arm guard. "Sounds like the Blue Viper Bears are gonna give us a run for our money."

A bit farther off, his similarly garbed companion lounges with her back against the wall. Her long, unruly hair is the same blindingly bright red as their uniforms, and has been pulled into a lazy knot at the top of her head. Her response is dark with sarcasm, though her eyes never leave the pages of the leather-bound notebook resting in her lap.

"It's more likely for the sun to implode than for that lousy Miosi to best you at bending."

"I dunno, Asuka. I hear Rei Niping's been training him."

Asuka gives him an exaggerated eye-roll. "The top waterbending instructor in all of the Northern Tribe? I _seriously_ doubt that. Besides, we all know that Miosi's only real talent is throwing shade to freak out his competition."

A hesitant giggle comes from the far corner, it's owner being the smallest member of the team – Hana. In her small, but steady voice, she adds, "Asuka's right, Noaka. Miosi is about the worst there is. Besides, it's against Pro Bending rules to have assistance from a professional trainer during the season."

"But I'm just saying—"

"And we're just saying that your fears are irrational and stupid." Asuka stands, snapping shut her book with the hand not tangled in her falling topknot. "There's no reason to get all worked up over nothing right before walking into the ring. Besides—" Her dark green gaze softens slightly. "Everybody knows you're gonna kick major ass out there."

Despite his best efforts, a grin stretches over Noaka's angular features. "And don't you forget it, fireballs."

Laughing, she playfully punches his arm. "Way to ruin the moment, idiot."

Hana pops up from her corner, mimicking her teammate's half-grin. "The Amber Jellybats are going to squash those lame Blue Viper Bears!"

"And send them scampering home to their mothers!"

"And they'll cry like babies!"

"Hell yeah they will!"

A secretive smile forms on Asuka's lips. Noaka might be rough-around-the-edges and Hana could sometimes act childishly, but they'd been there for her since the beginning. Before the Amber Jellybats, before they'd even discovered their bending abilities, the three of them had been inseparable. While hers had been alive, their mothers had all been friends. And when Dia had passed (and her father remarried the She-Devil), both Hana and Noaka had been there to keep Asuka from burning the house to the ground.

She was lucky.

A harsh gong rouses her from her thoughts. The world zooms back into perspective, and the subtle tug of armor reminds Asuka just where she is.

"There's the bell." Even after all that riling up, Hana's round, delicate face is almost green. "I-I'm going to be sick."

Asuka slings her arm around the smaller girl's shoulders. "Don't be ridiculous. You're the best dirt-hurler in all of Republic City."

"B-but this is our last chance at finals, and if I mess up now, then it's all over. My dad will be so—"

Asuka glances down at her their team's Earthbender. She can practically smell the stress rolling off of the shorter girl - and it's completely understandable. Even though Hana was the smallest, she was one of the best earth benders the Pro Bending arena had ever seen. Her father, TyChin Qoakase, had been a Pro Bender in his day; the best before her. Besides the stress of personal victory, Hana also held the burden of the Qoakase legacy on her small, fragile shoulders.

"Hey. _Hey_." When she refuses to meet her gaze, Asuka moves to kneel in front of her. "Look at me. Who cares what your dad thinks? I've watched you train almost every day since before the season even started. You trained so hard that you ripped the practice net almost completely down the middle. You're strong, you're fast, and you're better than anybody else out there. You can do this."

Slowly, the color returns to Hana's cheeks, along with a soft, but grim smile.

"Let's go show those bastards what we're made of."

Asuka smiles. "Now _that's _more like it."


End file.
